In the last decade, there has been a steady rise in the number of African players joining the NBA. And with players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid amongst others coming into the forefront, it is clear that the NBA's outreach is working.
Johannesburg is the center stage for the 2017 NBA Africa Games taking place on Saturday 5 August. The star-studded event has brought together NBA players, past and present, from all corners of the globe with the aim to promote basketball in Africa.
"The NBA has done a tremendous job trying to grow the game globally," said Dirk Nowitzki during a presser. "They've brought a lot of great talent over and we have some of the best players that our league has to offer."
And while fans from across the continent descend to the city of gold to see their favorite athletes, the event serves another equally important purpose: to empower and encourage social change through basketball. Two current players - Joel Embiid and Gorgui Dieng - are direct beneficiaries of programs like the Basketball Without Borders.
The camp is a development and community outreach offered to the top 19 players from Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa.
